Coronavirus in N.Y.: 'Astronomical' Surge Leads to Quarantine Warning
The White House advised people who have passed through or left New York City that they should place themselves in a 14-day quarantine.
By Alan Feuer and Brian M. Rosenthal
- March 24, 2020Updated 7:56 p.m. ET
Federal and state officials expressed growing alarm on Tuesday about the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, warning that it could reach its peak much sooner than expected and advising people who have passed through or left the city that they should place themselves in a 14-day quarantine.
Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House's coronavirus response coordinator, indicated that the health authorities were now treating the New York City region as a coronavirus hot zone, akin to areas of China and Europe overwhelmed by the virus.
Dr. Birx said that about 60 percent of all the new cases in the United States were in the New York City metropolitan area, adding that a surge in cases on Long Island showed that people leaving the city were spreading the virus.
"Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days to ensure that the virus doesn't spread to others no matter where they have gone, whether it's Florida, North Carolina or out to far reaches of Long Island," she said. "We are starting to see new cases across Long Island that suggest people have left the city."
Vice President Mike Pence made it clear that New York City was now the nation's coronavirus epicenter: "We have to deal with the New York metropolitan area as a high-risk area," he said, telling New Yorkers, "We are with you."
The White House warning came as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a grim forecast for the outbreak in New York, saying that it would flood the state's strained hospitals with as many as 140,000 stricken patients in the next few weeks.
Mr. Cuomo said that in New York City, new cases appeared to be doubling every three days. The crisis has already claimed the lives of more than 200 people statewide, and 131 in the city.
Despite the city's efforts to slow the spread of the virus, Mr. Cuomo said the number of infections could reach its peak by mid-April, far outrunning earlier projections.
"We haven't flattened the curve and the curve is actually increasing," Mr. Cuomo said. "The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought. That is a bad combination of facts."
Confronting what he called these "astronomical numbers," Mr. Cuomo, who has generally been restrained in his criticism of President Trump during the crisis, lashed out for the first time at Washington's response. He chastised the Trump administration for sending too few ventilators to address the crisis and drew an instant rebuke from the president.
The governor's warnings came as millions of city residents sat hunkered in their homes and as all of its nonessential businesses — such as retail stores, barber shops and nail salons — were shuttered. One survey showed about a third of city residents had lost a job because of the epidemic or lived with someone who had.
Schools have been closed for more than a week and the typically crowded subways and buses were running at record-low capacities. Normally bustling streets were ghostly and empty.
As the number of cases in the city neared 15,000, the police launched a new series of patrols to encourage people to stay inside and to practice the appropriate "social distancing" that health experts recommend in order to stop the spread of the virus.
In the expanding web of the outbreak, emotions ran high: More and more New Yorkers were starting to discover that their colleagues, friends and relatives were falling ill and dying. So far, 131 have died in the city.
"This crisis again, it's not just numbers," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "It's not just something happening somewhere else or to somebody else. This is something we all will feel very directly in our lives before it's over."
Speaking at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, a sprawling complex that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was scrambling to turn into a 1,000-bed hospital, Mr. Cuomo painted a bleak picture of the days and weeks ahead.
He projected that the state would soon require up to 140,000 hospital beds when only about 53,000 were now available for use. He also said that doctors could ultimately need as many as 30,000 ventilators when only a fraction of that number — somewhere around 5,000 — were currently available.
On Monday, federal emergency officials announced that they were sending 400 ventilators to the state, a figure that Mr. Cuomo said barely dented what local officials desperately required.
"You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators," Mr. Cuomo said. "What are we going to do with 400 ventilators when we need 30,000 ventilators? You're missing the magnitude of the problem."
Not long after Mr. Cuomo spoke, Vice President Pence announced that an additional 4,000 ventilators were either on their way or would soon be sent to New York State.
The breathing machines were only one part of a landslide of medical equipment being rushed to hospitals in the city and its suburbs: 340,000 new N95 respirator masks; 145,000 new surgical gowns; and 350,000 new pairs of gloves.
But even in such large amounts, the fresh supplies might not be enough to stave off disaster in the next two months, Mr. Cuomo said.
Sounding both alarmed and deeply frustrated, the governor said that he was baffled that the federal government had not done more. That prompted immediate criticism from Mr. Trump, who suggested that Mr. Cuomo had made choices years ago to forgo purchases that led to the shortages.
"I watch him on this show complaining," Mr. Trump said of Mr. Cuomo. "He had 16,000 ventilators, he could have had a great price and he didn't buy them."
New York's hospitals, struggling to treat the surge of new patients and keep their staffs from getting ill, dropped into a defensive crouch.
Two of the city's biggest hospital networks, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System, both implemented restrictive visitor policies that barred spouses, partners and other supporters from delivery rooms. The policy meant that mothers would now have to delivery their babies without help from friends, family or doulas.
"I have so much anxiety now and literally have not stopped crying after hearing that my husband can't be with me," said Samantha Moshen, 37, whose baby is due in early June.
Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, an emergency room nurse at a hospital in the Bronx affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center, said that staff members at her facility, like many in the city, had been told to reuse their masks and other protective equipment.
On Sunday, she said, a shipment that Mr. Cuomo promised finally arrived, providing a reprieve for panicked workers.
"It was like Santa Claus came for Christmas," said Ms. Sheridan-Gonzalez, the president of the New York State Nurses Association. "It was an unbelievable scene. It was like getting party favors. I never saw anything like it."
In many ways, experts say, New York was fighting an uphill battle against the virus because of one of the city's most distinctive qualities — its density.
New York has many more residents per square mile than any other city in the country, and those crowded conditions appear to have allowed the virus to spread quickly through apartment buildings, subway cars and jam-packed parks. Federal officials say the city has an extremely high infection rate of one case for every 1,000 people.
Some city residents have chafed at the restrictions, continuing to play sports in parks and to allow their children to interact on playgrounds. At an afternoon news conference, Mr. de Blasio said that the authorities were giving city residents until Saturday to prove that they could safely stay away from each other.
"If it is not sufficiently clear," he said, "that New Yorkers are following these rules, at that point, we will shut down playgrounds."
Mr. de Blasio also said the city was seeking to immediately release about 300 inmates at Rikers Island who had been jailed for misdemeanors and other nonviolent offenses. Health officials have warned the epidemic could have disastrous consequences inside city jails.
Officials will also work to determine whether to release about 100 other people in the city's jails who were awaiting trial, and about 700 more who were there on parole violations, the mayor said.
The mayor became emotional as he discussed the death in Florida on Tuesday of his friend, the Broadway playwright Terrence McNally, 81. Schools officials said that Dezann Romain, the 36-year-old principal of the Brooklyn Democracy Academy, had also died of the virus.
Though the New York area was the current epicenter of the outbreak in United States, Mr. Cuomo cautioned that it was also "the canary in the coal mine" for the rest of the country.
"What happens to New York is going to wind up happening to California and Washington State and Illinois — it's just a matter of time," he said. "We're just getting there first."
Michael Schwirtz and Christina Caron contributed reporting.
Alan Feuer covers courts and criminal justice for the Metro desk. He has written about mobsters, jails, police misconduct, wrongful convictions, government corruption and El Chapo, the jailed chief of the Sinaloa drug cartel. He joined The Times in 1999. @alanfeuer
Brian M. Rosenthal is an investigative reporter on the Metro Desk. Previously, he covered state government for The Houston Chronicle and for The Seattle Times. @brianmrosenthal
The Coronavirus Outbreak
Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions
Updated March 24, 2020
How does coronavirus spread?
It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.
Is there a vaccine yet?
No. The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine began in mid-March. Such rapid development of a potential vaccine is unprecedented, but even if it is proved safe and effective, it probably will not be available for 12 to18 months.
What makes this outbreak so different?
Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions — not just those with respiratory diseases — particularly hard.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you've been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
How do I get tested?
If you're sick and you think you've been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there's a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you're asymptomatic, for instance — you won't be able to get tested.
What if somebody in my family gets sick?
If the family member doesn't need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the C.D.C. If there's space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don't forget to wash your hands frequently.
Should I wear a mask?
No. Unless you're already infected, or caring for someone who is, a face mask is not recommended. And stockpiling them will make it harder for nurses and other workers to access the resources they need to help on the front lines.
Should I stock up on groceries?
Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.
Can I go to the park?
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don't live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
Should I pull my money from the markets?
That's not a good idea. Even if you're retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year's worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.
What should I do with my 401(k)?
Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions — don't! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you're at least saving as much as you can to get that "free money."
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